Chances are, unless you focus on smallish industrial companies with specialized market dominance and solid earnings and dividend growth, you’ve probably never heard of Nordson (NASDAQ: NDSN) and Badger Meter (NYSE: BMI).
Nordson operates in more than 35 countries, and it engineers, makes, and markets products used for dispensing adhesives, coatings, sealants, plastics, and other materials in everything from everyday consumer goods such as diapers and straws to high-tech applications in aerospace and mobile electronics.
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Badger Meter designs and markets meters and valves for measuring and controlling liquids and gases. Let’s see why each divided stock is worth considering now.
Nordson has increased its annual dividend for 62 consecutive years, including a 5% increase in 2025. That makes it a Dividend King, a select group of stocks that have raised their dividends for 50 consecutive years or longer. The yield, at its current share price, is 1.22%.
Badger Meter has increased its dividend for 33 consecutive years, including a 17.6% increase in 2025. Its yield, at its current share price, is 1.01%. Over the past decade, Nordson has raised its dividend by 241% while Badger has increased it 300%.
In the first quarter of 2026, Nordson posted record revenue of $669 million, up 9% year over year, while earnings per share (EPS) rose 44% over the same period last year to $2.38. The company has three segments: industrial precision solutions, medical and fluid solutions, and advanced technology solutions, with the last one leading the rise in sales. The segment saw sales rise 23% year over year, driven by growth in electronics dispensing systems and a recovery in demand for X-ray systems.
The company’s fast start to the year led it to raise its annual guidance. It now expects yearly revenue of $2.86 billion to $2.98 billion, up 4.6% at the midpoint over 2025, and adjusted EPS between $11 and $11.60, up 10.3% at the midpoint.
Badger Meter is coming off a record year. It reported 2025 sales of $916.7 million, up 11%, driven by software-as-a-service (SaaS) sales that grew 27%, thanks to the increasing use of the company’s cellular advanced metering infrastructure and added revenue from the purchase of SmartCover, which brought in $40 million in sales in the 11 months since its acquisition for $185 million. SmartCover specializes in sensors, software, and related services to monitor sewer levels, alerting utilities to potential issues. Badger’s EPS rose 13% to $4.79, also a company record.
